Ten Ambassadors are invited to help welcome volunteers for the [[Libraries Build Communities]] project on Friday of Conference, between 7:30am and 9:00am in the Convention Center lobby. Duties would include welcoming and orienting workers in their job-site groups and facilitating distribution of water and lunches to the groups. Light lifting and moving may be required.

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If you are interested in helping the helpers, we would truly appreciate it.

About ALA Ambassadors

Nearly 100 long-time attendees have enrolled to be a part of a program to help make first-time attendees at Annual Conference feel more welcome and get more out of their conference-going experience.

If you have signed up to be an Ambassador, please look for an email from John Chrastka, ALA Director for Membership Development, on June 6th with a go-ahead to schedule your 2-hour time in either the Membership Pavilion welcome Desk or the Ambassadors' Desk at Registration. Ambassadors are also needed for the Dine-Around Program, the Libraries Build Communities event, the International Visitors Welcome Desk, and the Placement Center (see details below.)

About the Ambassadors Program

Ambassadors will be paired up with first-timers in early June 2008 by email. Ambassadors will receive names and contact information of first-timers, along with a template for a welcome email and tips for customizing it to your interest and personality. We will also ask you to schedule your 1-hour time slot at the first-time attendee booth in registration or in the Welcome Desk at the Membership Pavilion (booth #1840). The number of individuals you will be asked to contact will depend on the number of first-timers who register for the service, but will not exceed a 1-hour commitment.

If you have questions about the program or wish to be an ALA Ambassador, please email John at jchrastka@ala.org.

For First-Time Attendees

ALA wants your first Annual Conference to be extraordinary, so when you register, be sure to check: I am a first time registrant of the ALA Annual Conference You will automatically be signed-up to receive a personal welcome from an ALA Ambassador – an ALA member who is a long-time conference goer. ALA Ambassadors help you make connections to programs, people and places before conference so that your time there can be well spent. Ask the questions YOU need answered before you go. And at conference, ALA Ambassadors can be identified by their Name Tags – stop anyone anytime in the halls to ask.

ALA Ambassadors Schedule in Registration Area and Membership Pavilion

Ambassadors are asked to use this wiki to sign up for a 2-hour shift (last shift of some days is 2.5 hours) during conference at either the Ambassador's Desk in the Registration area or at the Membership Pavilion, Booth 1838 in the exhibits.

If you would like to sign up for more than a single 2-hour slot, you will be most welcome.... Contact John Chrastka at jchrastka@ala.org with questions.

ALA Ambassadors Schedule for the "Dine-Around" Program

ALA Ambassadors will serve as conveners for the Dine-Around Program. On Friday, Sunday, and Monday, two conveners per cuisine, plus up to eight other ALA members will meet and go to dinner. Members will be able to sign up on the conference wiki or in the Membership Pavilion at Conference. The restaurant location will be within walking distance from the Convention Center and you may choose from a varied list of cuisines (see below). Reservations will be made under the name Kerri Price. Conveners will be given money for dessert plus an icebreaker kit. Tentatively plan to convene around 6:30pm and arrive at the restaurant between 7 and 7:30pm. Exact details will be coming soon.

ALA Ambassadors Schedule at the International Visitors Welcome Desk

The International Visitors Lounge is a place for international librarians to sit and relax, check email or use the internet, ask questions about the ALA Conference and Anaheim, learn more about international events at the conference, and meet and visit with friends and other international librarians. It will be located inside the Anaheim Convention Center (Level 1, in the foyer of Hall C), and open between June 27 and June 30 from 9am-5pm.

ALA Ambassadors Schedule for Libraries Build Communities

Ten Ambassadors are invited to help welcome volunteers for the Libraries Build Communities project on Friday of Conference, between 7:30am and 9:00am in the Convention Center lobby. Duties would include welcoming and orienting workers in their job-site groups and facilitating distribution of water and lunches to the groups. Light lifting and moving may be required.

If you are interested in helping the helpers, we would truly appreciate it.